Nílton Santos: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Brazilian footballer (1925–2013)}}

'''Nílton dos Santos''' (born [[May 16]] [[1927]]) was a [[Brazil]]ian [[football (soccer)|footballer]]. He was called ''The Encyclopedia'' because of his knowledge of the sport; was said that he had all the knowledge one could have about football. Nílton was a key player in defence during the [[Football World Cup 1954|1954]], [[Football World Cup 1958|1958]] and [[Football World Cup 1962|1962]] [[Football World Cup|World Cup]] finals (he was also in the Brazilian squad for the [[Football World Cup 1950|1950]] finals, but made no appearances) and became famous for scoring a magnificent goal in the 1958 tournament when Brazil played [[Austria national football team|Austria]]. Dribbling his way through the whole field, driving his coach [[Vicente Feola]] crazy and finishing with a superb shot.

{{For|the stadium in Rio de Janeiro|Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos}}

{{distinguish|text=[[Milton Santos]], Brazilian geographer}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Nílton Santos

| image = Nilton Santos 1 (1956).tif

| caption = Santos in 1956

| full_name = Nílton dos Santos

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1925|5|16|df=yes}}

| birth_place = [[Rio de Janeiro]], [[First Brazilian Republic|Brazil]]

| death_date = {{death date and age|2013|11|27|1925|5|16|df=yes}}

| death_place = Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

| height = 1.84 m

| position = [[Left back]]

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 = [[Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas|Botafogo]]

| years1 = 1948–1964

| clubs1 = [[Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas|Botafogo]]

| caps1 = 723

| goals1 = 11

| nationalyears1 = 1949–1962

| nationalteam1 = [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]]

| nationalcaps1 = 75<ref name=FIFA>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150119015055/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2014/m=3/news=75-days-to-go-2305309.html 75 days to go]. FIFA.com</ref>

| nationalgoals1 = 3

| medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Men's [[Association football|Football]]}}

{{MedalCountry|{{fb|BRA|1889}}}}

{{MedalCompetition|[[FIFA World Cup]]}}

{{Medal|W|[[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958 Sweden]]|}}

{{Medal|W|[[1962 FIFA World Cup|1962 Chile]]|}}

{{Medal|RU|[[1950 FIFA World Cup|1950 Brazil]]|}}

{{MedalCompetition|[[Copa América|South American Championship]]}}

{{Medal|W|[[1949 South American Championship|1949 Brazil]]|}}

{{Medal|RU|[[1953 South American Championship|1953 Peru]]|}}

{{Medal|RU|[[1957 South American Championship|1957 Peru]]|}}

{{Medal|RU|[[1959 South American Championship (Argentina)|1959 Argentina]]|}}

{{MedalCompetition|[[Panamerican Championship]]}}

{{Medal|W|[[1952 Panamerican Championship|1952 Chile]]|}}

}}

'''Nílton dos Santos''' ({{IPA|pt-BR|ˈniwtõ ˈsɐ̃tus|lang}}; 16 May 1925 – 27 November 2013) was a Brazilian [[association football|footballer]] who primarily played as a [[wing-back (association football)|wingback]].<ref name="Brazil and Botafogo's pioneering wingback"/> At international level, he was a member of the [[Brazil national football team|Brazil squads]] that won the [[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958]] and [[1962 FIFA World Cup|1962 World Cups]].

Pele named him in his [[FIFA 100|"top 125 greatest living footballers"]] in March 2004.

Regarded as one of the greatest defenders in the history of the game, Nílton Santos is a member of the [[World Team of the 20th Century]], and was named by [[Pelé]] one of the [[FIFA 100|top 125 greatest living footballers]] at a [[FIFA]] Awards ceremony in 2004.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/3533891.stm |title=Pele's list of the greatest |work=BBC Sport |date=4 March 2004 |access-date=15 June 2013 }}</ref> In 2009, he was the recipient of the [[Golden Foot#Award legends|Golden Foot Legends Award]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goldenfoot.com/legends.php?l=en|title=Legends|publisher=Golden Foot|access-date=23 September 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925120930/http://www.goldenfoot.com/legends.php?l=en|archive-date=25 September 2015}}</ref> He was unrelated to his frequent defensive partner [[Djalma Santos]].

Nílton Santos played for only 2 teams in his profesional career; [[Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas|Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas]] and the [[Brazil national football team|Brazilian national team]]; he is widely regarded as the best left wingback in the history of the game.

==Club career==

[[Category:1927 births|Santos, Nílton]]

Born in [[Rio de Janeiro]], he was a pioneering attacking left back, being one of the first full backs to make runs down the wing to participate in the offensive game. Once he said: "I have never envied today's players the money but the freedom they have, to go forward".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lechampions.it/2013/11/nilton-santos-1925-2013/ |title=Nilton Santos (1925–2013) |publisher=LECHAMPIONS.it |date=28 November 2013 |access-date=28 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203004115/http://www.lechampions.it/2013/11/nilton-santos-1925-2013/ |archive-date=3 December 2013}}</ref>

[[Category:Living people|Santos, Nílton]]

He played all his professional club career for [[Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas]].

[[Category:Brazilian footballers|Santos, Nílton]]

[[Category:Football (soccer) defenders|Santos, Nílton]]

[[Category:FIFA 100|Santos, Nílton]]

[[Category:FIFA World Cup 1958 players|Santos, Nílton]]

[[Category:FIFA World Cup Winners|Santos, Nílton]]

{{SouthAm-footybio-stub}}

He was called "The [[Encyclopedia]]" because of his knowledge of the sport of football. He was world class both at defending and attacking and possessed very good technique.

[[de:Nílton Santos]]

[[es:Nilton Santos]]

==International career==

[[fr:Nilton Santos]]

Nílton was a key player in defence during the [[1954 FIFA World Cup|1954]], [[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958]] and [[1962 FIFA World Cup|1962]] [[FIFA World Cup|World Cup]] finals (he was also in the Brazilian squad for the [[1950 FIFA World Cup|1950]] finals, but made no appearances) and became famous for scoring a goal in the 1958 tournament when Brazil played [[Austria national football team|Austria]]. [[dribbling (association football)|Dribbling]] his way through the whole field, he finished with a shot that drove his coach [[Vicente Feola]] crazy (he kept on insisting for Nílton to retreat to the [[Defender (association football)|defensive]] field, but was ignored until the goal was scored).<ref name="Chiesa">{{cite magazine |last= Chiesa|first= Carlo F.|date= December 1999|language= it|title= We are the champions – I 150 fuoriclasse che hanno fatto la storia del calcio| trans-title= The 150 champions that made football's history|magazine= Calcio 2000|publisher= Action Group S.r.l.|page= 62}}</ref>

[[it:Nilton Santos]]

[[pl:Nílton Santos]]

Nílton Santos played for only two teams in his professional career; [[Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas]] and the [[Brazil national football team|Brazil national team]] collecting 75 caps and scoring 3 goals.<ref name=FIFA/>

[[pt:Nilton Santos]]

[[fi:Nílton Santos]]

==Death==

[[sv:Nílton Santos]]

Santos died of a [[Respiratory tract infection|lung infection]] on 27 November 2013, aged 88, in Rio de Janeiro.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/sns-rt-uk-soccer-brazil-santos-20131127,0,5411999.story |title=Brazilian World Cup winner Nilton Santos dies aged 88 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=27 November 2013 |access-date=27 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131127212057/http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/sns-rt-uk-soccer-brazil-santos-20131127,0,5411999.story |archive-date=27 November 2013}}</ref> He was not only the last surviving member of the Brazil [[1950 FIFA World Cup]] squad, but also the fourth 1958 World Cup champion to die in a few months, after [[Djalma Santos]] died in July 2013, [[Gylmar dos Santos Neves|Gilmar]] and [[Newton de Sordi|De Sordi]] both in August 2013 and all of them within a year of the [[2014 FIFA World Cup]] in their native Brazil.

==Legacy==

Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas's home, and [[2016 Summer Olympics]] host stadium, the [[Estádio Olímpico Nílton Santos]], also called ''Engenhão'', is named after him.

==Honours==

'''Botafogo'''

*[[Campeonato Carioca]]: [[1948 Campeonato Carioca|1948]], [[1957 Campeonato Carioca|1957]], [[1961 Campeonato Carioca|1961]], [[1962 Campeonato Carioca|1962]]<ref name="Brazil and Botafogo's pioneering wingback">{{cite web|title=Brazil and Botafogo's pioneering wingback|publisher=FIFA|url=https://www.fifa.com/fifa-tournaments/players-coaches/people=44604/profile.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305155943/http://www.fifa.com/fifa-tournaments/players-coaches/people=44604/profile.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 March 2016|access-date=18 October 2015}}</ref>

*[[Torneio Rio – São Paulo]] 1962, 1964<ref name="Brazil and Botafogo's pioneering wingback"/>

'''Rio de Janeiro State Team'''

*[[Campeonato Brasileiro de Seleções Estaduais]]: 1950

'''Brazil'''

*[[FIFA World Cup]]: [[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958]], [[1962 FIFA World Cup|1962]]<ref name="Brazil and Botafogo's pioneering wingback"/>

*[[Copa América|South American Championship]]: [[1949 South American Championship|1949]]<ref name="Brazil and Botafogo's pioneering wingback"/>

*[[Panamerican Championship]]: [[1952 Panamerican Championship|1952]]<ref name="Brazil and Botafogo's pioneering wingback"/>

*[[Taça do Atlântico]]: 1956, 1960<ref name="Brazil and Botafogo's pioneering wingback"/>

*[[Copa Rio Branco]]: 1950<ref name="Brazil and Botafogo's pioneering wingback"/>

*[[Taça Oswaldo Cruz]]: 1950, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1962<ref name="Brazil and Botafogo's pioneering wingback"/>

*Taça Bernado O'Higgins: 1955, 1961

'''Individual'''

*[[FIFA World Cup All-Star Team]]: 1958

*[[World Soccer World XI]]: 1960, 1961<ref>[http://beyondthelastman.com/2013/04/29/eric-battys-world-xis-the-sixties/ "ERIC BATTY’S WORLD XI – THE SIXTIES"] Retrieved on 26 November 2015</ref>

*[[World Team of the 20th Century]]: 1998

*[[FIFA 100]]: 2004

*[[Golden Foot]]: 2009, as a [[Golden Foot#Award legends|football legend]]

*[[IFFHS Brazilian Player of the 20th Century]] (9th place)<ref>[https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/iffhs-century.html IFFHS' Century Elections]</ref>

*The Best of The Best – Player of the Century: Top 50<ref>[https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/bestbest.html "The Best of The Best"] Retrieved on 17 November 2015</ref>

*[[Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame]]

== See also ==

* [[List of one-club men in association football]]

* [[History of Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas]]

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

==External links==

{{Commons category|Nílton Santos}}

*{{Official website}} {{in lang|pt}}

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140808052720/http://www.niltonsantos.com.br/page/noticias_detail.asp?cod=10] Official website proving that "Reis" added to his name is an error {{in lang|pt}}

*{{FIFA player|44604|Nilton Santos}}

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071029194223/http://www.sambafoot.fr/joueurs/263_Nilton_Santos.html Profile] {{in lang|pt}}

*[https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/nsantos-intl.html Nilton Reis dos Santos - International Appearances]

{{s-start}}

!colspan="3" style="background:#C1D8FF;"| [[List of FIFA World Cup winning players|World Cup-winners status]]

|-

{{s-bef | before=[[Ottmar Walter]]}}

{{s-ttl | title=Oldest living player| years=16 June &ndash; 27 November 2013}}

{{s-aft | after=[[Alcides Ghiggia]]}}

{{s-end}}

{{Navboxes

|bg=gold

|fg=navy

|title= Awards

|list1=

{{1958 FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament}}

{{1960 World Soccer World XI}}

{{1961 World Soccer World XI}}

{{World Team of the 20th Century}}

{{South American Team of the 20th Century}}

{{IFFHS Men's South American Team of the 20th Century}}

{{FIFA 100}}

{{Golden Foot Legends Award}}

{{Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame}}

{{Botafogo FR Hall of Fame}}

}}

{{Navboxes

|title = Brazil squads

|bg = #FBEC5D

|fg = #008000

|list1 =

{{Brazil squad 1949 South American Championship}}

{{Brazil Squad 1950 World Cup}}

{{Brazil squad 1953 South American Championship}}

{{Brazil Squad 1954 World Cup}}

{{Brazil squad 1957 South American Championship}}

{{Brazil Squad 1958 World Cup}}

{{Brazil squad 1959 South American Championship (Argentina)}}

{{Brazil Squad 1962 World Cup}}

}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santos, Nilton}}

[[Category:1925 births]]

[[Category:2013 deaths]]

[[Category:Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city)]]

[[Category:Brazilian men's footballers]]

[[Category:Botafogo FR players]]

[[Category:Men's association football defenders]]

[[Category:FIFA 100]]

[[Category:1950 FIFA World Cup players]]

[[Category:1954 FIFA World Cup players]]

[[Category:1958 FIFA World Cup players]]

[[Category:1962 FIFA World Cup players]]

[[Category:FIFA World Cup–winning players]]

[[Category:Brazil men's international footballers]]

[[Category:20th-century Brazilian sportsmen]]